To protect telecommunications devices, such as computers, from extreme temperatures, cooling systems are used to maintain a desired temperature inside enclosures housing the electronic components of the devices. For example, conventional air apertures, such as openings in the enclosures, are employed to facilitate the circulation of air about the electronic components. Fans can also be used with the apertures, either integrated within or mounted to the enclosure, to exhaust air from the enclosure after the air has circulated about the electronic components.
Typically, conventional air apertures operate inefficiently. For instance, there may be an air filter covering the aperture that becomes blocked up with dust over time. In some devices, the energy release by the components is large enough to require the use of fans. Fans that only exhaust air from an enclosure or only push air into the enclosure operate inefficiently because of the large pressure differential between the pressure within the enclosure and the ambient pressure outside the enclosure.
The present invention implements a system for cooling telecommunications devices. Specifically, in one aspect of the invention, the cooling system includes an air inducing mechanism which pushes air into an enclosure of the device, and an air exhaust mechanism which exhausts the air from the enclosure. The rate at which the air is pushed into the enclosure is less than the rate at which the air is expelled from the enclosure and the two rates are optimized such that the pressure differential between the pressure within the enclosure and the ambient pressure outside the enclosure is minimized. By minimizing this pressure drop, the airflow mechanisms are able to operate more efficiently, that is, they are able to operate at substantially near their design speed.
Embodiments of this aspect can include one or more of the following features. The airflow mechanisms can be fans. There can be two fans mounted adjacent to each other for pushing air into the enclosure, and there can be two fans also mounted adjacent to each other for expelling the air from the enclosure. Each fan module may be removable, such that when one fan fails it may be removed while the other fans continue to operate to prevent thermal damage of the components within the enclosure. Each fan module, along with any replacement fan module, can be placed in the enclosure interchangeably, without modification, in any of the four locations. All of the fan modules are keyed or polarized to the full extent so as not to adversely affect the air flow direction or the performance of the heat transfer capabilities of the system within the enclosure.
In other embodiments of this aspect, the system can include a controller for variably controlling the speed of the airflow mechanisms or operating the airflow mechanism at a preset speed. The first airflow mechanism can be mounted in a lower half portion of the enclosure, while the second airflow mechanism is mounted in an upper half portion of the enclosure.